Jealousy, which exists at different levels in every person, manifests itself in different reactions and behaviors. Jealousy in its extreme dimensions causes damage to both the jealous and the jealous. It is possible to mention many reasons for experiencing jealousy. These reasons can be categorized under individual and social factors. Jealousy can often be accompanied by many other emotions such as fear, anxiety, worry, curiosity, envy, resentment, anger. Although there are many problems underlying the feeling of jealousy, the most common ones are factors such as lack of self-confidence, insecurity, fear of losing, fear of losing value in the eyes of other people, fear of being excluded, fear of being weak in the relationship, excessive possessiveness.
When the literature is examined, the most widely accepted definition of jealousy belongs to Pines (1998). According to Pines (1998), jealousy is "a complex reaction and a deviant emotional state as a result of the perception of any danger that may lead to the loss or deterioration of important relationships. This emotional state manifests itself as a multidimensional structure that includes feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, insecurity and suspicion that the individual experiences due to the fear of losing the relationship with a person he/she cares about or the status he/she has in the social environment. This multidimensional structure is expressed as cognitive, emotional, behavioral and situational.
The Multidimensional Jealousy Scale was developed by Pfeiffer and Wong (1987), and the aim of the scale is to measure the cognitive, emotional and behavioral reactions that occur in case of jealousy. The scale is a 7-point Likert-type scale. Both total score and each subscale score can be obtained from the scale. An increase in the total score and each subscale score means that the total jealousy or the jealousy score measured by the subscale increases. As a result of the factor analysis conducted for the original scale, three factors were identified. The first factor explained 33.1% of the variance, the second explained 13.6% and the third explained 11.7%. The factors were named as cognitive jealousy, behavioral jealousy and emotional jealousy. There are 8 items in each factor. In the reliability study, the reliability of the subscales was found between .80 and .90. It was adapted to Turkish culture by Karakurt (2001).
Subscales:
1. Cognitive jealousy (7 items)
2. Emotional jealousy (8 items)
3. Behavioral jealousy (9 items)
Source: Karakurt, G. (2001). The Impact Of Adult Attachment Styles On Romantic Jealousy. Unpublished Master's Thesis. Ankara: Middle East Technical University.